An 

Agricultural 

Revolution 



.By 



Herbert Myrick 




Revolution 

in 
Agriculture 



fro ^*- fi^n 



NEW INDUSTRIES 

That create a profitable market for hitherto waste 

products 

That may alter naval warfare 

And cause far-reaching changes throughout the 

industrial world 



HOW CORN stalks are being utilized so profitabU that 
the farmer may get as much for the formerly 
despised stalks as for the grain 
4 romance of modern progress that has laid the founda- 
tion for new and successful industries 



By.... 

Herbert Myrick 



Editor of American Vgriculturist of New York, Orange Judd tarmer ol Chicago, 
The New tngland Homestead of Springfield, Mass. Also editor of farm and Home. 
Springfield. Mass., Chicago, New Orleans and Montreal. Author of " The American 
Sugar Industry," " Tobacco Leaf," " The Hop," etc., etc. 



^r- 




By transfer 
14 Fi907 



New Uses for Corn Stalks. 



| Vote — For three years The Editor of American Agriculturist and 
his associates ha\ e I ieen inquiring into and closely follow ing the subject here 
treated. The article below is the final result of all this work. We have 
published very little on this topic heretofore, because the matter was in a 
state of evolution. Now, however, the work lias gone far enough to war- 
rant a comprehensive, impartial, authoritative and accurati nt, free 
from Mas of any kind. We believe the future will demonstrate that this is 
a fair review of the case at the present time.] 

The application of science to industry lias realized greater wo 
than were ever dreamt of. The triumphs of science in agriculture are as 
genuine as her victories in other industries or in astronomy or in electricity. 
Slaughterhouse by-products, which formerly were wasted, now yield larger 
profits than the dressed carcass of beef, mutton or pork. The once despised 
seed of the cotton plant, the accumulation of which was such a nuisan 
plantations in former years, is now the raw material for ;i whole army of 
industries, and has enabled the grower to make n profit even during the 
period of phenomenally low prices for cotton. 

The grain of the corn plant, formerly used only as food, now affords 
Jo commercial products. And now the humble corn stalk lads fair to rival 
all waste products in value. 

Such a statement at first looks ridiculous. Hie western com grower 
has keen brought up to consider the stalk field of value only for cattle that 
must "rustle"' through severe winters. So lightly is the corn stalk regarded, 
at least in parts of the great western corn hell, that it is valued at only 6oe 
per acre. The growers of 2632 acres of corn in 96 comities in (he eight corn 
lc1 returns to us of the [896 crop, showing the value of foci 
der to average only 59.4c per acre. "The value fixed for fodder was ike 
price at which it would have sold shocked in the field, with no further 
expense to the owner for hauling or delivery. The value of pasturage in the 
fields where the ears were husked from the stalk was fixed at the amount for 
which this privilege could have been sold." The total receipts for the 
averaged less than 60c per acre. It is true that maize is grown in New 
land and in certain sections of the southern state 



4 A Revolution in Agriculture. 

than for its grain. It is also true that the value of this wonderful plant as 
fodder is becoming better appreciated in the corn belt, yet it is still tine 
that over thousands of square miles of corn fields the stalks have a value of 
only 6oc per acre or even less. 

But now come science, invention, discovery and manufactures, unit- 
ing in a new industry that offers ten or twenty times that money for each 
acre of stalks. This new departure establishes a home market at which the 
farmer may get $3 to $5 per ton for the hitherto despised corn stalk. In 
other words, it offers $6 to $12 per acre for that which the farmer has 
heretofore almost thrown away. Even the labor of man and beast in deliver- 
ing the stalks from field to factory comes at a season when both might 
otherwise be idle, so that the new industry means also a profitable market 
for labor. 

WHAT THIS MEANS TO THE CORN GROWER. 

The possibilities thus opened up are prodigious. To add only a few 
dollars per acre to each one of the 80,000,000 acres devoted to maize in the 
United States each year runs into a sum so fabulous as hardly to bear publi- 
cation. But if it is assumed that only the fields of the corn belt will be 
benefited, those eight states, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, 
Missouri. Kansas and Nebraska, ah me average close to 50,000,000 acres 
under corn. If only $5 per acre is added to the value of the crop in this 
limited belt, it means the tidy sum of $250,000,000 added to the farmers' 
income. 

And most of it would be net profit, the balance paying for labor in 
place of enforced idleness. Since the value of the corn (grain) crop in this 
western belt averages only $6 to $10 per acre, any such cash returns for the 
stalks alone would practically double the value of the crop. And the corn 
(grain) produced in the United States each year is alone worth 650 to 850 
millions of dollars. 

Aside from the flights of imagination suggested by these figures, they 
reveal the striking importance of the subject. They emphasize what so few 
people realize, that corn is king, its grain alone excelling in value any other 
staple crop. Allowing merely a nominal value for the stalks, and King Corn 
is ordinarily worth over a thousand million dollars to the United States each 
year. More bushels of maize are produced in the whole world each year 
than of any other cereal, its total product being exceeded only by the potato. 
In a season of full average productiveness, the world makes about 4000 
million bushels of potatoes, 2750 million bushels of maize, 2600 millions of 
oats, 2500 millions of wheat, 1300 millions of rye. barley 750 millions of 
bushels. 

Until within a few years, the limitless possibilities of the maize plant 
were but dimly conceived of. Sir J. B. Lawes, the world-famous agricul- 
tural scientist of Rothamsted, England, in a conversation with the writer just 
ten years ago. referred in part to the commercial development of the corn 
plant that is now being accomplished, and with an enthusiasm that age could 



A Revolution in Agriculture. 



5 



not dampen, concluded: " My chief regret in not having been able to visit 
America is that I shall die without beholding your millions of acres of what 
I conceive to be the most superb crop that grows, as it is in itself the most 
valuable — Zea mays or American corn." 

THE FIRST QUESTION 

that arises is, can corn stalks be put to uses that warrant paying $3 to $5 a 
ton for them. We unhesitatingly answer, yes. Why were not these uses 




THE ORIGINAL CORN-PITH CELLULOSE FACTORY 

At Owensboro, Ky. This plant has been in operation since 1896. Here much of the experi- 
mental work has been done, which has resulted in establishing a variety of industries based 
on corn stalk by-products. In this picture, the large building. No. 1, is the cellulose mill 
where that article is prepared, treated and packed. The roofs of several other buildings ap- 
pear, also ,,ne .ii the cutting sheds and the power house I he othei illustrations and 'the 
accompanying article give a good idea of this new industry. 



6 A Revolution in agriculture. 

of Stalks discovered before? is often asked. Why was not the present 
universal application of electricity discovered years before it was? Who can 
answer either question? But just as the larger use of electricity has so enor- 
mously stimulated the use and enhanced the price of copper and zinc, so we 
foresee how the evolution of uses for the corn stalk may in future years 
advance rather than reduce the prices now paid for stalks. Here is a list of 
the products that already have been made on a commercial scale from the 
maize stalk: 

WHAT IS MADE FROM CORN STALKS. 

1. Cellulose for packing coffer dams of battle ships, this preventing 
them from sinking when pierced by bails or shells. 

2. Pyroxylin varnish, a liquid form of cellulose, the uses of which 
are practically unlimited. 

3. Cellulose used for nitrating purposes, for making smokeless pow- 
der and other high explosives, for both small and great arms, as well 
as purposes for which dynamite or all other explosives are required in varii ius 
forms and degrees of strength. 

4. Cellulose for packing, it being the most perfect non-conductor 
km >u u against heat or electricity, jars or blows. 

5. Paper pulp and various forms of paper made therefrom, both 
alone and mixed with other grades of paper stock. 

6. Stock food made from fine ground outer shells or shives of corn 
stalks, and also from the nodes or joints. The leaves and tassels also furnish 
a shredded or baled fodder. 

7. Mixed feeds for stock, containing fine ground shells or shives as 
a base, and in addition thereto various nitrogenous meals and concentrated 
food substances, or blood, molasses, distillery and glucose refuse, sugar beet 
pulp, apple pomace and other by-products. 

8. Poultry foods of two types, namely — type 1, containing a domi- 
nant nitrogenous factor for laying hens, and No. 2, containing a dominant 
carbohydrate factor for fattening purposes. 

This is but a bare enunciation of the principal classes of corn stalk 
products. Each class may be subdivided into a variety of purposes. 



THE VALUE OF THESE PRODUCTS 

is unquestionably great. Any one of them is important enough to form a 
large industry of itself. But to obtain such an array of products from a 
source never before thought of — the corn stalk — involved an immense 
amount of original work, experimenting, research and discovery. These 
scientific problems solved in part, then came the still more perplexing one 
of handling the stalk and its component parts in such a way that the various 
products could be made at a cost which would allow of an adequate profit 
when sold. 






»/ 












8 A Revolution in Agriculture. 

All this involved the accomplishment in three years of what has taken 
fifty years to do in many old established industries. Mark XV. Marsden 
obtained the first patent on corn stalk product Feb. 19, 1895, Dut ^ has taken 
the combined genius of many of the most gifted scientists, inventors and 
manufacturers of America to develop this new industry up to the present 
state of the art. This has cost enormous sums, too, and would have been 
impossible but for the almost unlimited capital of The Marsden Company 
and the unflinching confidence of its president, W. \Y. Gibbs of Philadelphia, 
with whom are associated as directors. Thomas Dolan, George Philler. 
Samuel R. Shipley, Martin Maloney, Edwin S. Cramp, George S. Graham 
and J. R. Williams — gentlemen whose high standing is recognized through- 
out the world of finance. 

Air. Gibbs had acquired fame and fortune as a captain of industry in 
the gas, electric and street railway business before he was sufficiently 
impressed with the underlying principles of Marsden's ideas to devote almost 
hi> entire time and energies to their development. Mr. Gibbs's manage- 
ment lias been subjected to the most violent criticism as a financial scheme 
based on coin stalk impossibilities. His associates have stuck to him, 
however, Mr. 1 iibbs lias been able to command capital whenever needed and 
has gone on working out new methods of manufacturing and world-wide 
markets for these new products until success is assured. This seems to he 
a case in which the originators or original hackers of a new principle have 
had the faith, the ability and the capital necessan to win momentous victor} 
againsl what seemed to he overwhelming difficulties. 

THE PROGRESS ACCOMPLISHED. 

The problem of extracting these products from the corn stalks 
involved the solution of new perplexities and untried difficulties in manu- 
facturing that can onh be appreciated by those who are familiar with the 
progress of the work-. The latest improvements perfected permit the 
economical separation of the various products wholly by automatic 
machinery and methods. 

We are satisfied that The Marsden Companj is working on correct 
principles, that its products have a high value and unlimited markets, that 
these products are being produced of a quality to satisfy consumers and at a 
cost that affords a wide margin of profit. While affording a profitable home 
market for a hitherto practically waste product, it is also evident that this 
concern has at its command the genius, capital ami experience necessary to 
further simplify and perfect its methods of manufacture, so as to still further 
reduce cost of production and increase its possibilities of profits. The 
Marsden Company lias broad patents covering all the machinery, methods. 
processes and products of this inviting new industry. In addition, the 
knowledge it has gained through costly experience is exclusively its own. 
And this of itself is probably a greater protection even than anv patents. 

In the light of all these fads, it has seemed to our most conservative 
judgment that the time was ripe for pointing out the agricultural and 



10 A Revolution in Agriculture. 

economic possibilities of this new departure. The more so. since, in addition 
to its experimental works and original factor\' at Owensboro, Ky., The 
Marsden Company is now about to build extensive works at Linden, Mont- 
gomery county, Indiana, at Peoria in Illinois, and one in eastern Virginia. 

CHARACTER OF THE MAIZE STALK. 

To make the matter clear, the nature and composition of the maize 
plant must first be understood. 

I he corn stalk consists of joints (also called nodes) at irregular inter- 
vals, united by the stalk proper (these uniting sections are called internodes),. 
together with leaves and tassel or flower. In the process of manufacture 
the leaves, tassels and joints are separated from the internodes, the pith is 
extracted from the internodes, leaving the shells of the internodes, commonly 
called shells or shives. It is found that too pounds of air-dried Indian corn 
stalks, when stripped of leaves and tassel, contain about 

26 lbs. of nodes or joints. 

20 lbs. of pith, coarse and fine. 

54 lbs. of shells or shives. 

AMOUNT OF CELLULOSE IN THE STALKS. 

The maize stalk is made up mostly of water, fiber, starchy matters 
and sugary substances. To speak more scientifically, it is composed chiefly 
of carbohydrate matter, consisting of ligno-cellulose. pentosan bodies and 
pure cellulose. The other carbohydrate bodies, except the pure cellulose, 
can be dissolved by successive treatments with hot acid and alkali. It has 
thus heen found that the nodes contain on the average 33 per cent of pure 
cellulose, the pith 36 per cent and the shives 40 per cent. 

NEITHER SUGAR NOR ALCOHOL 

can be profitably obtained from corn stalks by any method now known. 
There were some hopes of making alcohol successfully, but this phase of the 
subject has been carefully gone over l>y Wiley, who thus summarizes his 
r< -nits for this article: 

" Two or three different kinds of sugar may he produced from maize 
stalks by digestion with hot acid — namely, xylose, arabinose and dextrose. 
The first and second named sugars are more abundant than the dextrose. 
The total quantity of sugars produced by hydrolysis with an acid estimated 
in terms of dextrose is as follows: Nodes 29 per cent, pith 23 per cent, shells 
or shives 26 per cent. 

'* These data show that more than half of the material dissolved from 
nodes and shives by hot dilute sulphuric acid are composed of sugars; while 
in the case of the pith more than half of the soluble matter consists of sugars. 



12 A Revolution in Agriculture. 

Of these sugars, dextrose is the only one which will yield alcohol on fermen- 
tation. The amount of fermentable sugars, however, is very small, since 
the quantities of alcohol from the three divisions of the stalk with the amount 
of dextrose corresponding thereto are as follows: 

RESULTS FOR ALCOHOL AND DEXTROSE. 

. llcohol Dextrose 

Division of stalk P cent P cent 

Nodes 1.36 3.40 

Pith from internodes _m(i 5.40 

Shells fri im internodes 1.92 4.80 

" It has been established that the chief quantity of sugar formed in 
the above process consists of the quality known as xylose, a sugar which has 
no commercial value. It is evident that it will never prove profitable to 
attempt to make alcohol from the maize stalks, since at best they would 
yield only two pounds of alcohol to 100 pounds of stalks." 

COMMERCIAL USES OF THE MAIZE STALKS. 

Two important commercial uses have been found for the products of 
the maize stalk, namely the pith ami the shell or shive. In regard to the 
pith it has been demonstrated by actual trials that it is a perfect protection 
to battle ships against danger from sinking due to the entrance of water. 
Coffer dams about three feet in thickness when tightly packed with maize 
pith and perforated by shells or solid shot are completely impervious to the 
passage of water. For convenience in packing, the pith, after separation 
and purification, is pressed, into cubes, each side of which is six inches square. 
These cubes at the factory are packed in paper boxes so that they are kept 
dry and free from injury in transit. Illustration on Page 13 shows two of 
these pith cubes, one enclosed in the box and the other removed therefrom 
to show its general appearance. The corn pith cellulose is rendered fireproof 
before being used. 

When the coffer dam containing this material is perforated by a shot, 
the elasticity of the tightly packed pith completely closes the hole made by 
the projectile, so that the water cannot pass through. Naturally some water 
must enter at the point of perforation, but owing to the great capacity of the 
pith to absorb water, it being able to hold more than twenty times its own 
weight when not pressed, the water that first enters is at once absorbed. 
This causes the pith which is moistened to swell and thus to close more 
completely the aperture made by the projectile. 

\i lot her illustration shows how a block of compressed pith will 
expand when moistened. Two blocks of pith were prepared in exactly the 
same way, having the same thickness and the same weight; they were placed 
on edge in front of a camera and one was moistened by pouring water on it; 
it immediately began to increase in size and at the end of one minute and 




! 3>: 








14 



A Revolution in Agriculture. 



thirty seconds after the water was added the photograph was taken. The 
immense increase in size due to the swelling caused by the water is strikingly 
shown. 

This use of corn pith cellulose long since passed the experimental 
stage. It was the original object in utilizing corn stalks, and the many 




SACKING THE MARSDEN FEED 

The new corn producl is being sacked by the packer at the right. The machine at the 
left is for packing finely powdered cellulose. 



other products now obtained have grown out of the improvements in 
extracting the pith for this purpose. The United States navy department 
earls made exhaustive tests of corn pith cellulose, which proved it tin be so 
vastly superior to cocoanut fiber that the latter has been discarded and corn 



A Revolution in Agriculture. 



pith cellulose is now used for packing United States warships. I his 
government is so well satisfied with the superiority and cheapness of corn 
pith cellulose for naval purposes that our navy department officials indorsed 
it in a report to the Italian government. So successful were the official tests 
by the admiralty at Southampton and Poligon that the English and Russian 
governments have placed orders for The Marsden Company's corn pith 
cellulose for warships now under construction, and the government of France 
has il< me likev* ise. 




PRESSING AND PACUING CELLULOSE 

irn pith cellulose is pn ssed into 6-inch cubes [8 at a tim 



with an average pressure of 60 tons 
packed in cartons made from corn shi\ 



hi this hydraulic press, 
the square inch The blocks of cellulose are then 
•s and then into boxes lined with waterprooi 



As com pith cellulose becomes cheaper, it will doubtless come into 
general use for lining vessels of all kinds, which it is desirable to protect 
against sinking. V high authority (Lewis Nixon, naval constructor) says 
this discovery and application of cellulose is of as vital importance to the 
navy as the development of Harveyized armor and smokeless powder. 
USES OF THE PITH FOR M\KING MTRO-CELLDLOSE AND HIGH EXPLOSIVES. 

The pith, either directly or after extraction with a dilute alkali, is 
easih nitrated into all the various forms of material made from cotton, and 



16 



A Revolution in Agriculture. 



of course at far less cost. Tt lias many advantages over cotton for nitrating 
purposes, especially in the manufacture of explosives of all kinds, by reason 
of its more perfect keeping qualities. 

\s is well known, the fillers of cotton are hollow and are filled with 
a mixture of acids during the process of nitration. It is found very difficult 
to remove these traces of acid by subsequent washing, and therefore the 
keeping qualities of explosives made from cotton are not of the best. The 
pith of Indian corn stalks is not open to the objection just urged against the 
fihers of cotton. It is easih nitrated, easilv washed, ami makes an excellent 




SHIPPING CELLULOSE BY CARLOADS 

<i the United States government. It is sent to tin- shipyards 
instruction, and is used in these ships as elsewhere described. 



ihere naval ships are un- 



ar'.icle for solution in amy] acetate or other solvent for the manufacture of 
varnish of different kinds, and also for making substitutes for gun cotton for 
the purpose of manufacturing smokeless powder and other explosives. 

The best smokeless powders and dynamites are made from this 
ni'r.ve 1 corn pith. The powders have remarkably permanent qualities, not 
being open to decomposition and thus being far safer to keep and to use than 
the ordinary smokeless powders heretofore manufactured. A corporation 
with ample capital is now constructing great works at South Amboy, New 
Jersey, for the manufacture of this improved smokeless powder on a large 



18 A Revolution in agriculture. 

scale. It is to be made in sizes, grades and qualities adapted to every 
possible purpi >se. 

The corn pith in its natural state absorbs nitroglycerin with avidity, 
and thus makes an excellent dynamite, the strength of which can be increased 
almost indefinitely according to the purpose for which it is to be used. 

IN PAPER MANUFACTURE 

the use of corn pith cellulose is destined to play an important part. The 
outer shell or shives of the internodes of corn stalk under proper treatment 
yield a pulp that can be used alone or as an admixture with cheaper pulps 
for making paper. As Orange Judd Company uses an immense quantity 
of paper for its periodicals and books, we are specially interested in the claim 
that the wood} covering of corn stalks may yield a substance which will 
produce news paper of superior quality without materially increased expense. 
Those most familiar with the experiments under way in application of corn 
stalk by-product to paper manufacture, predict surprising results in the line 
of fine book papers at low cost. 

It ma) yet prove true that the humble corn stalk will be a most potent 
factor in preserving forests. The consumption of forests by wood pulp mills 
has assumed vast proportions, and already threatens the dire consequences 
of forest denudation. 'With corn stalk pulp obtained more cheaply and of 
better quality than wood pulp, and as an incidental by-product of other 
manufactures, instead of being the sole product, as in wood pulp mills, the 
possibilities of the pulp feature of com stalk utilization are certainly immense. 

IN THE ARTS. 

( )ther manifold uses of cellulose in the arts afford an attractive field 
for com pith. The liquid form of cellulose, better known as pyroxylin 
varnish, is a most remarkable substance that can be utilized in a thousand 
ways. Practically everything made from wood pulp can he made still better 
from pyroxylin varnish, which may also be applied as a coating for all 
exterior surfaces and used fur many other purposes. The name " pegamoid " 
has been applied to a similar but far mure costly preparation made from 
cotton, which has made a great sensation in the world of manufactures and 
the arts, but the corn pith pyroxylin varnish seems to be in every way 
superior and much cheaper. 

The coarser cellulose product from corn stalks is coming into general 
use for packing purposes. \s one of the best nun-conductors of heat, it is 
employed in lining refrigerators of all kinds. For refrigerator cars it is 
peculiarly popular, because the jarring of the car in transit expands the stuff 
and makes it fill space even more thoroughly than when first packed, thus 
increasing iis efficacy. ( Ither preparations, on the contrary, settle and leave 
large open spaces and their non-conductivity of heat is thus gradually 
destn )\ ed. 



20 A Revolution in agriculture. 

I !orn husks afford a desirable quality of " excelsior " for upholstering. 
The leaves, tassels, etc., make a shredded fodder of good feeding value. 
Practical farmers will be most interested, however, in 



THE NEW CORN PRODUCT FOR FEEDING PURPOSES. 

It has been shown that the fine ground shives or shells of the stalk, 
from which the pith has been removed, make an excellent base for cattle food. 
Extensive experiments were made with this food at the Maryland agricul- 
tural experiment station and published in Bulletin No. 43 of that station, 
also at the New York station, Geneva. Feeding experiments were made 
under controlled conditions, in which it was established that the fine ground 
shive contains eleven pounds per hundred more digestible matter and two 
pounds per hundred more digestible protein than the shredded corn fodder. 
It was further shown that the material was superior to timothy hay in 
food value. 

Similar views of the feeding value of the new corn product have also 
been officially expressed by leading European experts, including Daforb of 
Vienna, Thomas of Lige, Wiela'nd of Berlin, Peffert of Paris. Their experi- 
ments and reports have been partly responsible for the keen export demand 
for this feed. It has also been successfully used by man}- practical feeders 
in this country. Some stock do not take kindly to it at first, but after getting 
used to it eat it with avidity and with satisfactory results compared to more 
costh feeds. 

As a base for mixing with other foods, this new corn product is found 
most excellent in every case, giving results of the most favorable character. 
The most important function of this material, however, is found in the fact 
that it is the best absorbent for blood and molasses of any substance which 
has e.er been tried. The food value of blood and molasses has long been 
recognized all over the world, blood by reason of its high content of protein, 
and molasses by reason of its content of easily digestible carbohydrates. 
The sugars contained in molasses have high fattening properties, and are 
especially suited to preparing^animals for the market. 

The mechanical defects, however, attending the feeding of blood and 
molasses in their natural state are so great that such food is impracticable, 
but fine ground shives of Indian corn stalks will absorb from three to five 
times their weight of blood and molasses, and after being spread for a day 
or two in a dry place will be suitable for packing and transportation. If 
artificial drying be employed even larger quantities can be absorbed. 

Advantage has been taken of this fact for mixing the finely ground 
shive with various other food products in order to make a cheap and yet well 
balanced ration. It is just the stuff to mix with distiller}- slop or other forms 
of swill, vast quantities of which are wasted or lost by methods of feeding 
now 111 use. Mixed with apple pomace, the combined feed is more relished 
and sjives better results. 



A Revolution in Agriculture. 



21 



BEET PULP CORN FEED. 

Mixed with wet pulp from beet sugar factories, the bran-like material 
absorbs the water and produces a mixture that can be handled readily and 
fed to great advantage. It has been so successfully used for this purpose 
by beet sugar manufacturers in Germany, also to utilize their vast stoic- of 




A COLLECTION OF CORN SFALh PRODICFS 

Now displayed at the national export exposition at Philadelphia, by The Marsden Company, 
whose headquarters arc in the Drexel building, Philadelphia, Pa. This large case, onlj one 
of its four sides being shown above, contains a complete array of the large variety of products 
made from corn stalks. Each part of the plant is shown, also the husks made in excelsior 
for upholstering, corn-pith cellulose in a variety of forms and conditions, a line of cattle 
foods in simple and compound form, mixed rations for all classes of stock made with Mai 
fen base, poultry foods of different kinds, pyroxylin varnish, smokeless powder in variety, 
ind high explosives, charcoal and gunpowder, paper-pulp stock and paper made therefrom. 
A still larger exhibit of these products will lie made at the Paris exposition. 



22 A Revolution in agriculture. 

waste molasses, that the export demand will take at $12 per ton every ton 
of the 120.000 tons that the company will be able to make during the 
coming year. 

An economical method of converting the wet but nutritious pulp 
from sugar beet factories into a form readily handled and fed, is much 
needed. This new corn product, fine and dry and of unprecedented absorp- 
tive power, besides being a good feed of itself, is just the substance for mixing 
with this wet pulp. The product should possess high feeding value, must 
be extremely palatable, and in a condition admitting of transportation with 
facility and of storage without deterioration. 

Such beet pulp corn feed should be sold at a price that, in view of 
results obtained, should make it one of the cheapest of feeds for all farmers 
within moderate distance by rail or road of the factory. Even at such a 
price this would afford a profitable market for the vast quantities of pulp 
that now are practically wasted by every beet sugar factory in America. 
Possibilities in this direction will be tested on a large scale at a number of 
beet sugar mills this fall. 

If the new corn product thus converts to valuable uses the pulp and 
molasses from beet sugar manufacture, such a result, along with other 
by-products from beet sugar mills that are being developed, will have a 
profound influence in maintaining the superiority for profit of the beet sugar 
industry over cane sugar. Indeed, the complete utilization of beet 
by-products may eventually render the industry independent of tariff in 
competing with the cane sugar made by coolie labor in the tropics. 

AS A BASE FOR POULTRY FOOD 

the line ground shive seems to have no superior. Two types of poultry food 
have been developed from this material, one for laying hens, containing large 
percentages of nitrogenous materials, and the other for fattening broilers for 
the early market, containing a considerable excess of carbohydrates, derived 
principally from molasses. These rations have been thoroughly tried at 
the Maryland agricultural experiment station. 

Young chicks just from the incubator, having been fed exclusively 
on this food from the beginning, these chicks not only grew with remarkable 
rapidity, but the pullets began laying at an earlier day than any others of 
which a record has been made. The purpose in mixing the poultry food is 
to make it complete, so that chickens could be fed upon glass plates without 
access to any material except that contained in the food and yet thrive 
perfectly. 

Chickens eat the poultry food with avidity, especially the type con- 
taining the excess of molasses. The type containing the excess of nitrogenous 
matter is not so palatable at first, but soon becomes so if fed at first with a 
little sprinkle of maize meal. The poultry food is pressed into flat cakes, 
making it easier for transportation; before feeding it is broken into fragments 
and moistened, preferably with hot water; in this condition it is eaten with 
great avidity and with most profitable results. 



A Revolution in Agriculture. 



23 



AS A FOOD FOR STOCK 

of all kinds, the new corn product lias given very satisfactory results. Not 
only beef- cattle and dairy cows, but young stock, horses, mules and hogs 
have done well on tins tee in pla 1 ot Ua\ or roapTiage Owing to its 
compressibility, large quantities can be transported in a comparative!) small 
space, making it useful for teamsters, army purposes ami the like. Pigs do 
well on it, ami the results with poultry are remarka; le. 




ANOTHER VIEW OF THE CORN STALk PRODUCTS 

Now C'li show at the national export exposition, Philadelphia, by The Marsden Company. 



Further accounts of the value of the food for feeding purposes are 
found in Bulletin No. 51 of the Maryland station at College Park postoffice, 
and Bulletin No. 141 of the New York station at Geneva. 



".01 


4-95 


4 1 -44 


46.01 


2.80 


1.94 


1.17 


78 


3-50 


2.44 


44.08 


43.88 



24 A Revolution in Agriculture. 

These practical demonstrations of the feeding value of the new corn 
product simply confirm its theoretical or scientific value for this purpose. 
It appears that of the protein in the nodes 60 per cent is digestible; in the 
pith 68 per cent, and in the shells 72 per cent. Each of the three portions 
of the Indian corn stalk described above has been subjected to a careful 
chemical examination by Wiley, with the following' results: 



Modes Pith Skives 
/> cent f cent /• cent 

Moisture 6.52 

Crude fiber 37-94 

\>-li 2. 1 1 

Fat 94 

Proteids 4.38 

Carbohydrates other than crude fiber 48.21 

New and more perfect methods of manufacture give a product of 
still higher feeding value. This is emphasized by the following comparative 
analysis made by W. 11. Dean: 

New 

Oat strive 

hulls No. 22 

I' cent P cent 

Water 1.56 2.92 

Ether extract r.15 1.78 

Crude protein 1.72 6.15 

Crude fiber 34 ■ - ; 41-34 

Ash 4.76 10.36 

THE MANURIAL VALUE 

of this new feed must not be lost sight of. Containing as it does the more 
si did parts of the stalks, its percentage of ash is very high. Since ioo pounds 
of pure ash of the maize stalk' contain some thirty-six pounds of potash and 
nearly fifteen pounds of phosphoric acid, not to mention about ten pounds 
each of soda, lime, magnesia and silica, it will be seen that the manurial value 
of the prepared shives is important. The new preparation is also remarkably 
rich in protein or nitrogenous matter and this adds still more to its manurial 
value. 

Compared with other feeds, the Marsden new corn feed now made 
warrants the comparison expressed in the following table. Its digestibility 
is figured on the average results at the Maryland station. The "values 
expressed in money " are necessarily somewhat arbitrary, but are the same as 
used in Myrick's feeding charts and tables, and are quite as intelligible and 
useful to the ordinary farmer as the chemical analysis and artificial co-efficients 
of digestibility. 




ftUMiiit 

tilt it 




ANOTHER VIEW Or THE MARSDI N EXHIBII 



26 A Revolution in agriculture. 

FEEDING AND MANURIAL CONSTITUENTS COMPARED. 

Marsden Dry corn I nihility Wheal Corn 
feed fodder hay bran meal 

Water 2.9 42.0 13.0 11.0 15.0 

Dry matter 1177 58.0 87.0 80.0 S5.0 

Including ash 5.1 2.7 4.4 5.8 1.4 

Protein, total 4.5 5.9 154 9.2 

Protein, digestible 3.7 2.5 2.9 [2.0 7.0 

Fiber, total p. 3 1 ) .3 29.0 9.0 1.9 

Fiber, digestible 15.2 9.4 15.4 2.3 1.1 

Sugar, starch, etc 37.5 34.7 450 53.9 68.7 

Sugar, etc., digestible 24.8 24.0 28.4 36.7 63.2 

Fat, total 1.8 1') 2.5 4.0 3.8 

Fat, digestible t.6 1 .-' 1.4 2.9 3.3 

Feeding value per 1.111 $12.12 $8.16 $10.48 $13.76 $16.98 

Nitrogen per cent 3.1 1.8 1.3 2.7 1.6 

Phosphoric acid i.i 0.5 .5 2.9 .6 

Potash (.8 0.8 .9 1.6 .4 

Mammal value $10.84 $6-53 $5-°3 $12.19 $5-69 

Total value $'7 54 $n-43 $1300 $19.86 $19.83 

The feeding value per ton is obtained by estimating the digestible fat and digestible 
protein as worth 2c per lb., and digestible liber and carbohydrates (sugar, starch, etc.), at 
ic per lb. Manurial values are expressed in money by estimating nitrogen at 15c per lb., 
phosphoric acid 5c, potash |e. The total value in money is the feeding value plus one-half 

the manurial value, on the assumption that half the plant f i elements are lost by the time 

the solid and liipiid excrement is used on the farm. The " values" thus expressed in money 
have no necessary relation to what either feed costs in market, nor to their feeding value or 
. IT. . 1 in making flesh or milk. 

THE MARSDEN PROCESSES OF MANUFACTURING VARIOUS PRODUCTS FROM CORN STALKS. 

The exhaustive exposition above of the industries that arc being 
developed from corn stalks, has led to a loud demand for sonic account 
of the various processes of manufacture. The following is the first complete 
and authoritative description of these processes ever published, but of course 
omits the secret methods and machinery that are The Marsden Company's 
exclusive property. This description is of the methods in vogue at the 
factory at ( Kvensboro, Ky., and will be still clearer by reference to the 
illustrations printed herewith. 

The corn stalks as received from the farmers, tied in bundles, are 
thrown upon the carrier, shown in one of the photographs, along which the 
bundle is conveyed to the cutting machine, wherein the stalk's are cut into 
lengths of about one-half inch. A considerable quantity of the leaves and 
husks are not cut by this machine, but passed through in their original form. 
All of the stalk, however, is cut up, and in cutting a considerable portion of 
the outside hard shell is broken loose from the pith. 

The material in bulk then passes up the elevator in front of the cutting 
machine and is thrown into the first pair of large revolving reels, which are 
clothed with mesh cloth of sufficient size to permit the pith and shell and 
small particles of leaf and husk to pass through it. The coarser portions of 
the leaf and husks pass over the reel, tailing from its end, are caught up b\ 
an exhaust fan and conveyed through pipes to another part of the plant, 
where they are shredded and baled ready for the market, furnishing an 
excellent rough fodder for cattle feeding, equal in nutriment to the best 
timothy hay. 



A Revolution in Agriculture. 



27 



The material passing through the meshes of these reels is elevated 
and thrown into the second pair of reels, shown in another photograph. 
These reels are clothed with longitudinal wires, and by revolving the same 
at a high rate of speed, the Hat pieces of shell, leaf and husk escape between 
(he wires, thus performing the second cleaning operation cm the pith. 
Falling in the hopper, shown under these reels, this material is drawn up by 
exhaust fans ami carried direcl 1<> large attrition mills, nut shown in any 
photograph, and is there ground to a line meal, thus making the new 
corn product. 

SEPARATING THE CELLULOSE. 

The pith tailing over the longitudinal reel is also caught up l>\ 
exhaust air and carried to the top of building No. \. shown in the photo 




STARTING A CORN STALk (RIB 

F a photograph taken at Linden, Indiana. Huge piles of stalks al either side. 



graph, where it is discharged into a grading machine. This consists of reels 
clothed with four different size mesh cloths, the object being to separate the 
sizes to facilitate separation from whatever shell and leaf that may remain 
mixed with the pith at this point. From the grading reels each sized 
material falls upon another separating device, which consists of a series of 
inclined upward moving canvas curtains, and not shown in photograph. 



28 A Revolution in Agriculture. 

The material being delivered at the. top of the curtain, the round or short 
pieces of pith roll rapidly down the curtain, while the Hat pieces of shell and 
leaf are drawn upward and backward over the curtain, falling into an exhaust 
chamber, whence they are conveyed to the same mills that grind the fine 
cattle feed. 

The pith from these several curtains is now entirely free from leaf, 
husk and loose dirt, but may have more or less of the hard outer shell closely 
adhering to it. The pith from all cleaning machines is concentrated by the 
means of gravity pipes to a belt conveyor, which runs under the entire length 
of building Xo. 3. shown in photograph, and is there admitted to an elevator 
boot, which carries it to the top or fourth floor of the main factory building. 
The pith is then ground in a mill similar to the mills which grind the feed. 
This operation breaks loose every particle of shell yet adhering to the pith. 
The ground mass is then graded into four different sizes, each size consisting 
of pith, liber and shell of equal size, though of different specific gravity. 

The material then passes to the machine wherein the pith is separated 
from all foreign material that it may have been mixed with. This is done 
entirely by air, and the machinery consists of certain special devices. The 
liber and shell obtained by this process are carried back to the grinding mills 
in No. 4 building and are mixed with the feed, the pith in this pure state 
being again concentrated on a belt conveyor, which carries it to the depart 
ment wherein it is treated chemically for fireproofing. This operation consists 
in mixing with the cellulose certain chemicals whereby it is rendered 
lircproi if. 

GOVERNMENT INSPECTION. 

At this point of the manufacture, the government inspector, who is 
stationed continually at the works, passes upon the material. lie takes 
samples of about one-half peck each, places it in an iron pan witli a perforated 
bottom and drops on the cellulose an iron rivet healed to a thousand 
degrees. The government specifications require that under this intense 
heat the cellulose shall only char and that no flame shall be shown. After 
the inspector is satisfied that the material meets the fireproofing require- 
ments, it is passed on to the pressing and packing department, shown in the 
photograph. The government requires that the material shall be packed in 
six-inch cubes to a density of from eight to nine pounds per cubic foot, thus 
each of the six-inch cubes will weigh from sixteen to eighteen ounces. Each 
of these cubes is then packed ill a pasteboard box. and 128 of these boxes 
are then packed in a stonl packing case, which is first lined with waterproof 
paper. The box is then closed, the government inspector puts his official 
stamp on it and it is then practically the property of the United States or 
some foreign government. 

THE FEED BY-PRODUCT. 

After passing through the attrition mills, the cattle feed is all sifted to 
a uniform size, any coarse particles it may contain being returned to the 



CfQ W 



ft C/> 
2. SO 






r 



J$| 







\\ 






<, a 



■jo A Revolution in Agriculture. 

mills for further reduction. From the sifting device, the feed passes into 
the packing machines, shown in photograph, where it is packed in packages, 
as shi i\\ n. to a density of about thirty pounds to the cubic foot. 

We have now followed the corn stalk from the time of its delivery 
to the factory in its original form up to the point where it is ready for the 
market in the form of cellulose for packing war vessels and cattle feed for 
genera] use. The many other uses to which the cellulose is put, such as 
smokeless powder, dynamite, sponge-making, etc., begin at the point where 
it is chemically treated for fireproofing. This process of manufacture will 
be carried out in the new plants at Linden. Peoria and Newport News. From 
the time the corn stalk starts on the carrier up to the time the feed reaches 
the packing machines and the cellulose reaches the cellulose press, it is not 
touched by anyone, the process being continuous and the machinery entirely 
automatic. 

MORE ABOUT THE OWENSBORO EACTORY. 

The first factory in the world for working up corn stalks was 
established at Owensboro, Ky., in 1896. The location was at the center of 
a large corn-growing region, accessible by water, railroad and highway to all 
points. The plant is located immediately on the south bank of the Ohio 
river, not far from the heart of the city. The river front is a high bluff and 
the federal government has Intel)' completed rip-rap and mason work to 
protect the bank from water current during high water. 

There are nine separate buildings in use: No. 1, brick', four-story. 
;o\ 1 :N feet, which contains the greater part of the reduction machinery; 
No. j. brick, one-story, 48 x 126, engine house; No. 3, one-story frame, 
49x94. machinery; No. 4. frame, three-story, 39x46, machinery; No. 5, 
48 x 13-': No. 6, 84 \ [32; No. 7. 50x130; No. 9, 132x132; No. 11, 
25 \ 12-,. Nos. 5, 6, 7. 9 and 11 are all frame and one-story, and are used 
as storage sheds, but with stalk cutters occupying part of 5 and 6. Buildings 
Nos. 1 and 2 are substantial brick structures. The others are somewhat 
inexpensive frame buildings covered roof and sides with corrugated iron. 
flu. photographs herein give a good idea of the plant. 

Up to the time of our visit, the stalks used have been drawn from 
the surrounding country, and delivered at storage sheds by fanners' wagons. 
There is a stalk yard at a point a little distance out in the country where 
surplus could be stacked, but not under cover. Being located on the river, 
stalks can be drawn from a considerable distance at little cost. The company 
has good docking facilities, and owns a small steamer which it proposed to 
utilize to tow a fleet of barges. These barges will be taken to convenient 
points along the river, and stalks may be hauled and delivered to them 
instead of hauled to central plant. A small cutter will be on each barge, so 
that by the time they reach the central plant, the stalks will be cut into short 
pieces, and thus advance the first steps in manufacture. This facility for 
cheap water transportation for raw material was one reason for locating at 
Owensboro. The double illustration on Page 2 shows two of these 



A Revolution in Agriculture. 31 

barges finished and others being built. The present will be the first season 
that barge transportation has been used. Fur transporting stalks longer 
distances by rail to The Marsden Company's factories in Virginia, Indiana 
and Illinois, large railroad cars are specially constructed that carry immense 
loads. The size of these cars is limited only by the curves of the vails and 
the hight or width of bridges. Such cars are loaded with cut stalks, the 
cutting being done at cutting stations conveniently located along the 
railn >ad. 

Medium-sized stalks are preferred, and experience oi farmers who 
have been furnishing them is that average production is about two and 
one-half tons per acre. The price paid has been from S3 to $5.40 per ton. 
according to condition and dryness, delivered at the plant when desired. 
Contracts are made providing for a sliding scale of price for delivery in 
different months, in such case grower to shelter stalks and deliver well dried. 
December deliver) was paid for at $3.50 per ton, January $3.75, Februan 
$4.50, and, ten cents additional each succeeding month to November, when 
the price for old stalks in prime condition is $5.40. Experience indicates 
that the amount of dn matter obtained in a ton of stalks at these prices costs 
about the same. Stalks left standing in the corn field may be cut and 
delivered at the farmers' convenience during the winter at $3.50 per ton. 
'fhe shredded corn leaves, one of the first by-products in the manufacture, 
are eagerly bought up by local feeders at a price competing with hay, and 
are preferred to ha\ because of the result- obtained from feeding the same. 

Of the corn stalk, the cellulose is about half the bulk and one-eighth 
the weight, the residue being one-half the bulk, but seven-eighths the weight. 
Therefore, in a ton of average corn stalk's, as taken from the field, there are 
about 250 pounds of cellulose and 1750 pounds of residue — nodes, shives or 
shells, leaves and tassels — all nutritious mailer. This explains how it is that 
the Marsden corn feed is so much more concentrated than the stalks from 
which it is made So much of the spongy pith or cellulose is removed that 
the resulting \(\:'\ is quite c< >n cent rated ami of higher feeding value than clear 
com fodder. This result may be compared to gluten feed or gluten meal, 
which is so much more concentrated than the clear corn grain from which it 
is made, because so much of the starchy matter i- extracted that the remain 
der is proportionately rich in protein. 

When the factories now under construction are completed this fall, 
fhe Marsden Compam will be able to work up 300. 000 ions of corn stalk's. 
fins should yield aboul 200.000 tons of the various forms of Marsden feeds, 
besides the other ami more valuable products. This is but a beginning, as 
the company contemplates building a large number of factories throughout 
the corn belt in future. The market f< >r the pn iducts of these fact, >ries seems 
to be unlimited, and offers even inducement for a development of this 
industry on broadly comprehensive lines. 








I 



HARVtSTING THE CROP 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



II 




fill 



018 375 343 5 




COFFER DAM OF CELLULOSE 

on a war ship. If a shell from the enemy 
pierces the side of a ship below the water 
line, and passes through three feet of corn- 
pith cellulose into the ship, the cellulose will 
swell np so quickly that no water will get 
into the ship. "For keeping out water a 
cellulose belt of 3 ft may be said to be about 
as efficient as a 6 inch belt of steel, so that 
the ship's stability can be protected with 100 
tons of cellulose where we should require 
1000 tons of steel." The naval ships Colum- 
bia. New York ard Olympia are thus pro- 
tected, and cellulose is being used on most of 
the new ships. 



